Something Happened Last Night
by Lara-Van
Summary: My own enjoyment of these powers had been ruined by a nuclear incident; I didn't want the same thing to happen to her, not when her power had so much potential for joy and beauty." Emma seeks Peter out to talk to him about her power. Some spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

A Note From Lara: I don't think we've seen Peter smile this much in the entire rest of the series COMBINED!! Seriously. Emma's really good for him. All you Pemma shippers out there (and I know there's more than a few), put your hands in the air and scream over Hysterical Blindness! Anyway, this is just sort of a snapshot. Maybe I'll post a second chapter showing their conversation if I get enough reviews asking for it (hint hint).

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*Emma*

If I hadn't believed him before when he made his point about powers with the piano, I definitely did now. The four-foot-long crack in my wall and the shattered frame over my diploma were more than proof enough that my crazy paramedic friend wasn't as crazy as he seemed.

And that was why I spent the entire morning waiting in the ambulance bay in the hopes that his shift would start or end while I was still there. I knew there were files that needed to be organized and records that needed to be updated, but this was more important. Hey, my mother had always said, I needed to get out of the file room...

It was almost noon when he and his partner came pulling into the bay. I could see his face through the windshield; he looked completely nonplussed to see me leaning against the cinderblock wall waiting for him.

Before his partner had even cut the engine, he hopped out of the cab and hurried over to me. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Looking for you," I replied. "Can we... go somewhere? I need to talk to you."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Uh... sure. What about?"

I sighed. I didn't want to say anything to anybody but him, and his partner was watching us with avid curiosity as he climbed out of the ambulance himself. "Something happened last night. Something to do with... the colors," I said in what I hoped was an undertone. Not, of course, that I'd be able to tell.

His eyes changed and his friendly grin morphed into a look of concern. "Is everything okay?" he asked, laying a gentle hand on my arm. "I mean, are you alright?"

I nodded, trying to ignore the hypersensitive place where his skin met mine. "Yes, it's just... Look, can we go somewhere else?"

He smiled, looking relieved that I was okay. It was touching, but something suddenly occurred to me as we left the bay together. "You know," I said, "I don't even know your name!"

"I'm Peter. Peter Petrelli."

"And I'm Emma."

*Peter*

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been thinking about her all night. At least, all night after I left Hiro. Until he woke up, I was too busy worrying about him to think about much else. But once I went back home and tried to get to sleep... Well, my brain just ran in circles with her standing in the center.

For so long, I'd thought of these powers as a responsibility. A heavy burden and a gift bestowed at a cost. I'd forgotten the pure joy they could bring. The elation of flying, of stopping time, of walking invisible through a crowd of people and not one of them knowing you were there. And then along came a girl with a power so unlike anything I'd ever experienced before, a power that was pure beauty. The colors she saw all around, they were enchanting.

And they weren't the only thing that was enchanting. When we had played the piano together, there had been a look of transported delight on her face that captivated me. Yeah, I hated to admit it, but I had a crush on the girl. Not that it would ever amount to much. I guess my comment about the file room must have offended her, from the way she got defensive after I said it. No chance for it now, I guess. Just one more name to add to the list of girls Peter Petrelli has blown it with.

But apparently not, because she was standing in the ambulance bay with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall and tapping her toe impatiently when Hesam and I pulled in after our morning shift.

I was about as surprised to see her standing there as anything could make me anymore. I hopped out of the ambulance before Hesam had even brought the thing to a full stop and hurried over to her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, making sure to stand so she'd be able to read my lips.

"Looking for you," she replied.

If I had been surprised before, the only real word for it now was flabbergasted. After the ass I had managed to make of myself yesterday, what possible reason could she have for seeking me out? And her next words caught me even more off-guard. "Can we... go somewhere? I need to talk to you."

"Uh..." _ Say yes, Petrelli. For once in you stupid, useless life, don't make a fool out of yourself, just say yes!_ "Sure. What about?" Thank god. I managed to get the words out without tripping all over myself. That might just be a first.

She suddenly looked nervous, glancing over my shoulder at Hesam, and I guessed she didn't want him to hear whatever it was she had to say. Then she sighed. "Something happened last night," she said so softly I almost didn't hear her. "Something to do with... the colors."

I was suddenly worried about her, more so than I would have expected. My own enjoyment of these powers had been ruined by a nuclear incident; I didn't want the same thing to happen to her, not when her power had so much potential for joy and beauty. "Is everything okay?" I asked, unconsciously taking her arm in concern. "I mean, are you okay?"

She nodded, looking a little uncomfortable, and I remembered myself enough to take my hand away from her. _Smooth, Petrelli, real smooth._ "Yes, it's just... Look, can we go somewhere else?"

I smiled and nodded, and suddenly it occurred to me that it was almost noon. Maybe I would manage to get a quasi-date with her after all...

"You know," she said, interrupting my train of thought, "I don't even know your name."

Oh. Yeah. That might be important. "I'm Peter," I said. _Way to go. No last name? What are you, man, a cocktail waitress? _"Peter Petrelli," I amended.

She gave me a small grin. "And I'm Emma."

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So what do you think? Deserve a second chapter?


	2. Chapter 2

**A Note From Lara:** Well, after copious requests for this, I finally got around to updating it. Aren't you glad? Anyway, I've decided that Pemma is a bit like Spock/Uhura. It's one of those ships where you'll wonder "How the hell did that even happen?" Of course, with S/U, that's entirely because of Spock's personality. With Pemma, it's more because they're both so shut off from the world, you have to wonder how the heck they could ever lower those barriers enough to connect. I get the sense that Emma's not big on the touchy-feely stuff, which makes me think that the writers really HAVE given me what I've been looking for in a Heroes girl for a long time- Dianne! (For those of you who don't follow my long stuff, don't worry, it's not really important, I'm just rambling) Thank god Peter is like the single most touchy-feely guy in the universe. He'll more than make up for her reticence in the sappy department.

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*Emma*

We'd settled for terrible coffee and stale muffins in the hospital cafeteria, since I was technically supposed to be working, and I didn't think they'd appreciate me randomly leaving to take a lunch break elsewhere when I hadn't actually _done _any work yet today.

"So... what exactly happened that's got you so freaked out?" Peter asked as he sat down and slid a mug across the table to me.

I gave him a look. "I'm not freaked out. Confused, though."

"Sorry," he said, looking like he meant it. Actually, he looked so sorry, it was almost comical. I grinned to show him I wasn't that offended, after all, and he gave me a hesitant smile in return.

I took a sip from the mug he'd brought me, then looked up in surprise. It was tea, not coffee. "You remembered," I said. Peter's uncertain smile burst into a happy, adorable grin that made my stomach flip over unexpectedly.

Then his expression turned serious again. "So what happened then?"

"I broke my wall," I said. His eyebrows drew together in confusion and I explained. "I was playing the cello last night. It's the first time I've touched it in years and I was thinking about... things. I got frustrated. Then a bunch of the colors focused on one place on the wall, and the next thing I knew, there was a five-foot crack in the plaster."

Peter stared at me, amazed. "I'm not crazy!" I exclaimed. "I know what happened."

"No, you're not," he said. Then he fell silent, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip and staring intently at the table-top. After a moment, he looked back at me again, and the intensity of his eyes as he met my gaze made my stomach do that swooping thing again. Get ahold of yourself, I commanded myself, but it didn't do a whole lot of good.

"I'm not quite sure what it is you did," he finally said. "But... maybe you could try to do whatever you did again?"

I raised my eyebrows and gave him a look. "Yes, just what I need, cracks in_ all_ my walls," I said sarcastically.

"Good point," he said. "I'll try it, then. I can't play the cello, but I think it has something to do with sound waves in general. Manipulating the force of sound, or something like that."

That actually made a lot of sense. But... "You would risk destroying your apartment for me?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Not like I spend much time there anyway," he said. "I'm always here."

"Thank you," I said, all the while thinking, _Another thing we have in common._

*Peter*

I glanced over at her where she sat across the hospital cafeteria, drumming her fingers idly on the table-top. Her chin was resting in the palm of her other hand and she was staring off into space... or perhaps watching the colors. I didn't know at the moment. I had taken Hiro's power last night, and I'd been careful not to reabsorb hers when I touched her arm just now. She had a faraway, wistful look in her eye and I wanted to ask her what she was thinking about.

But first I had to wait for the stupid tea to brew. Just lovely.

Finally, the water had turned the desired shade of amber, and I plucked the tea bag from it and carried it over to the table. As I slid into the seat across from her, I asked, "So... what exactly happened that's got you all freaked out?"

She glared at me. "I'm not freaked out," she said defensively. "Confused, though."

Crap. There I went again, saying something that offended her. I just couldn't seem to go right with this girl. Not that that was terribly unusual, but it was more frustrating than usual because Emma was amazing.

"Sorry," I said. But she was smiling again, and I gave her a smile in return. My grin widened when I saw her expression of surprise as she realized I'd remembered that she drank tea. "So what happened then?" I asked.

"I broke my wall. I was playing the cello last night. It's the first time I've touched it in years and I was thinking about... things. I got frustrated. Then a bunch of the colors focused on one place on the wall, and the next thing I knew, there was a five-foot crack in the plaster," she explained. I stared at her, trying to work out what she'd said. But apparently she misinterpreted my look as doubt, because she exclaimed, "I'm not crazy! I know what happened."

"No, you're not," I assured her, and went back to puzzling out what this new facet of her power might be. She had destroyed her wall... with light. No, not light. Sound. Sound waves? Vibrations or harmonics or something? I wasn't sure. But she was still waiting for me to explain this to her, as was made abundantly clear when I glanced back at her. Her dark eyes that I found so captivating were locked on my face, waiting on tenderhooks for me to make it all clear. I just hoped I wouldn't disappoint her. I was too prone to disappoint everyone who pinned their hopes on me lately.

I sighed. "I'm not quite sure what you did. But... maybe you could try it again, whatever you did?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just what I need. Cracks in _all_ my walls," she said sarcastically.

"Good point," I said. Alright then, there was an easy solution to that. "I'll try it, then. I can't play the cello, but I think it has something to do with sound waves in general. Manipulating the force of sound, or something like that."

Emma asked, "You would risk destroying your apartment for me?"

Yes, most definitely. I'd risk a whole lot more for her, I was pretty certain, because despite having known her only a few days, she had a frighteningly strong hold on me already. But actually saying that would be a little odd, to say the least. And so I just shrugged. "Not like I spend that much time there anyway. I'm always here."

She smiled that slow, unsure smile of hers. "Thank you," she said. And in that moment, like an echo of the powers I had held before, her voice whispered across my mind, _Another thing we have in common..._

And just like that, everything had changed. Had I read her mind? Were my powers coming back?

And perhaps most importantly of all: Was Emma thinking about me as much as I was thinking about her?

The rest, as they say, is history.

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I have this theory based on the WORDING of certain spoilers they gave out over the summer (in which they used the exact same phrases Peter used when he was first beginning to understand how his power worked) that loving Emma will restore his original empathic ability. And we've had enough proof on this show of how deeply these powers are connected to the heart to make that entirely feasible in canon, so I'm holding out hope. Reviews, por favor?


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